Antimicrobial activity of D-amino acid in combination with photo-sonoactivated hypericin nanoparticles against Acinetobacter baumannii

BMC Microbiology

article

Pourhajibagher, Maryam¹  Hosseini, Nava²  Bahador, Abbas⁵ 

[1] Dental Research Center, Dentistry Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences;Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes ,(IBIS), Pavillon Charles-Eugène-Marchand, Université Laval;Département de Biochimie, de Microbiologie et de Bio-Informatique, Faculté des Sciences et de Génie, Université Laval;Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec;Fellowship in Clinical Laboratory Sciences;Department of Microbiology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

关键词: Acinetobacter baumannii;    Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy;    Antimicrobial sonodynamic therapy;    Biofilms;    Drug resistance;    Nosocomial infection;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12866-023-02758-4

学科分类：放射科、核医学、医学影像

来源: BioMed Central

【 摘 要 】

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains is increasing worldwide. To overcome these life-threatening infections, the development of new treatment approaches is critical. For this purpose, this study was conducted to determine the antimicrobial photo-sonodynamic therapy (aPSDT) using hypericin nanoparticles (HypNP) in combination with D-Tryptophan (D-Trp) against A. baumannii. HypNP was synthesized and characterized, followed by the determination of the fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index of HypNP and D-Trp by checkerboard assay. Next, the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm potential of HypNP@D-Trp-mediated aPSDT against A. baumannii was evaluated. Finally, the anti-virulence activity of aPSDT using HypNP@D-Trp was accessed following the characterization of HypNP@D-Trp interaction with AbaI using in silico virtual screening and molecular docking. A synergistic activity in the combination of HypNP and D-Trp against A. baumannii was observed with a FIC index value of 0.5. There was a 5.10 log10 CFU/mL reduction in the cell viability of A. baumannii when the bacterial cells were treated with 1/2 × MIC of HypNP@D-Trp and subsequently exposed to ultrasound waves and blue light (P < 0.05). Moreover, a significant biofilm degradation effect on biofilm-associated cells of A. baumannii was observed after treatment with aPSDT using 2 × MIC of HypNP@D-Trp in comparison with the control groups (P < 0.05). According to the molecular docking analysis of the protein-ligand complex, Hyp with a high affinity for AbaI showed a binding affinity of − 9.41 kcal/mol. Also, the expression level of abaI gene was significantly downregulated by 10.32-fold in A. baumannii treated with aPSDT as comprised with the control group (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that HypNP@D-Trp-mediated aPSDT can be considered a promising strategy to overcome the infections caused by A. baumannii by reducing the growth of bacterial biofilm and decreasing the expression of abaI as a gene involved in A. baumannii biofilm formation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY|CC0